Are my Images Fair Use?

[Krow]

Although I agree with this (e.g., fair use is a right and it does exist), I really don't want to UNDERSTATE the importance of being educated. As you say, a lot of people really *don't* know what fair use is. As you say as well, there are a lot of myths.

But part of the reason there are a lot of myths is precisely because -- as you also note -- most cases don't go to court. That's the only way we can get precedent about fair use, ultimately. If a company or individual lets their claim drop because they don't have the time/money/energy to take a claim to court, that means we have nothing to go off of. We can't assume that that is an example of fair use, because it didn't go to court. It could be that that film critic youtuber would have lost in court -- but we don't know, because he hasn't actually been taken.

I'm not saying I want to be the one who goes to court so that YouTubers everywhere will have legal precedent. BUT realistically, everyone should still be very cautious (even though, yes, fair use is a right), because even if you're sure that you WOULD win in court, do you really want to risk the chance that you will have to spend time/money/effort proving that?

Well, if you can make the video you wanna make without using anyone else's material, then you should do it. It's certainly safer.

But like i said before, if you believe in your project and you have educated yourself on this matter, then go forward with it. Not risking, not fighting back, not making noise will only make companies stronger.

The reason why so many people nowadays are getting away with the use of copyrighted material is because more and more and more people are doing it and the word on fair use is getting spread. People are getting more educated about their rights and are starting to make a lot of noise. That has forced some companies to dial back a little bit.